Kip Cleaver 9/2/09
Kip Cleaver is the founder of a meditation group that meets once a week in Acton. In an interview with the Boston Pagan Examiner, he tells his story, explains what meditation means to him, and tells how readers can join the group.
Boston Pagan Examiner: You’ve said you started meditating during a health crisis in your life.
Kip Cleaver: It all started in the bone marrow transplant unit - any straw you can grasp at in there is valuable!!! Everyone in there is staring death right in the face... Days after I got diagnosed with leukemia in 1996, somebody handed me a book by Siegel... "Love, Medicine and Miracles." …I was a big jock…I was the last person in the world to try meditation… I knew I wasn’t going to get in a Zen pose for hours…but I tried his tapes, and they worked… I was on the bone marrow transplant unit for six and a half weeks. I meditated almost daily…
Examiner: What’s your current status with the leukemia?
Mr. Cleaver: I’m totally cured… They…say… "You may get it again, but you don’t have it now." …Look at me. I got leukemia and I got a new immune system, and I’m cured.
Examiner: You feel meditation strengthens your immune system?
Mr. Cleaver: No question.
Examiner: How is meditation spiritual? Does it bring you closer to the Divine, or God?
Mr. Cleaver: [I’ve used meditation CDs by] Adyashanti. His approach helped me explore…what is your soul all about?... His approach is more than just relaxation…it’s more looking inward… Who are you? ... How do you get close to God and let Him in your life? Or Her.
Examiner: You started the meditation group at South Acton Congregational Church?
Mr. Cleaver: I had the idea to try starting it, having no idea at all where it would lead… I started by talking to [Rev.] Katrina [Wuensch] about it … in the fall of 2008 …We just shrugged our shoulders and said, "Let’s try it."
Examiner: What does the group do?
Mr. Cleaver: We listen to a tape, every meeting … We make sure we always have time to listen and hopefully time to talk … Sometimes people bring something they want to read … We meet Mondays from 7:00 to 8:30. People are free to leave at 8:30, but we usually end up talking a lot longer …
Examiner: Do you have advice for readers who are fighting cancer?
Mr. Cleaver: Read Siegel… Join a group… Call American Cancer Society’s hotline at 1-800-ACS-2345, 24/7.
If you are interested in joining SACC’s meditation group, call 978-263-2332 or email info@southactoncc.org. They meet every week, and there is no charge.
Mr. Cleaver recommends the book "Love, Medicine and Miracles" by Bernie Siegel. It is $14 and the ISBN number is 0060919833. See www.berniesiegelmd.com. He also recommends the CD set "True Meditation" by Adyashanti. It is $24.95 and the ISBN number is 1591794617.
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